


i want something just like this

by ephemerality



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, it is cold so they cuddle that's it that's the fic, just. just fluff that's basically all this is please take it, napping together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 04:44:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17419313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemerality/pseuds/ephemerality
Summary: Maybe cute detectives have a temperature limit, and if it goes above or below that, they stop wanting to murder all the time. Or maybe this is all part of his master plan.





	i want something just like this

**Author's Note:**

> i. wrote this. almost a year ago??? i wrote out the damn author's notes and everything and then. i forgot to post it. like a fuckin fool. so. here y'all go i guess!
> 
> title from Something Just Like This by Coldplay, because one day I was driving around with one of the kids and we were singing along to this song and I was like. hey. hey. shuake. wow that rhymed, nice one alia

It's been freezing outside all this week, and the inside of Café LeBlanc is no better. The heater is malfunctioning, and no one will be here to try and fix it until the afternoon. Akira feels like a statue of ice, and that's despite the fact that he's wearing four pairs of socks and all three of his blankets from the attic wrapped around his shoulders. He wouldn't have come downstairs at all, except that Sojiro apparently refused to just close the café due to the weather, and he also refused to suffer alone. So here he is sitting in an empty booth in the far corner of the café at nine in the morning on a Saturday, Morgana curled up in his lap, leeching what little warmth he has left like the adorable creature that he was. He wonders, not for the first time, how mad Sojiro would be if he snuck back upstairs, when the bell at the door rings, and Akechi comes running in. He's clutching at his briefcase, blowing air on his gloved hands as if it'll actually make a difference, hunched low into his jacket that's clearly not meant for this weather, and his lips are blue with cold. Really, it's instinct that makes Akira stick an arm out of his cape cocoon and offer, "Wanna share?"

He's surprised for second when Akechi makes a beeline for him without even batting an eye; then Akechi is pressed against him under the blankets, shoving him further into the booth, and Akira totally understands. If Akira is an ice statue, then Akechi is the human incarnation of Antarctica. Akira pulls off Akechi's gloves, not even bothering to ask permission, and begins blowing hot air on his bare fingers. Akechi isn't even fazed, he just leans his head on Akira's shoulder and presses his thigh against Akira's. It seems as if the chill is too much even for the great detective prince.

Sojiro squints at Akira from behind the bar. How the hell he's still functioning is a mystery. Akira squints back.

Akechi shivers against him, and he realizes that when he'd grabbed Akechi's hands, he'd also dropped one side of the blankets. He reaches around the detective to grab it and pull it tight around both of them. Akechi leans even further into him, hands curling in Akira's shirt, brushing against his stomach and making him shiver a little harder.

Morgana digs a warning claw into Akira's thigh. Right, right, he knows. Akechi is the enemy, even if right now they're cuddling for warmth.

_ Huddling _ , he reminds himself. They're huddling, not cuddling. Akechi is a murderer, not a cuddler. But despite the fact that he knows this to be a fact, he can't reconcile that person with the one currently snuggling up to him in his own home.

_ Huddling _ .

He hears a familiar sigh and blinks back into reality. Sojiro is watching them with a resigned look on his face _. Yes _ , Akira thinks _. Pity us, let us go somewhere warmer, please.   _ "Just take him upstairs before he freezes to death, Akira. Heat rises, it'll be warmer up there anyway."

He shouts _ YES  _ in his head, and nudges Akechi gently. "We're being exiled upstairs. Apparently we're too cute for anyone down here to handle."

Sojiro rolls his eyes so hard that Akira momentarily worries that they're going to fall out of his head. Akechi lifts his head up, smiling a little. "We are quite adorable," he agrees, and Akira is pleasantly surprised that he doesn't argue at all. Maybe cute detectives have a temperature limit, and if it goes above or below that, they stop wanting to murder all the time. Or maybe this is all part of his master plan.

At least Akechi's teeth aren't chattering anymore. His lips are still tinged blue, though. The kind of blue that would mix well with Akira's red lips, and make a splendid purple. He shakes that lovely image out of his head and pushes at Akechi to get out of the booth. It's a weird little dance they do to stand up, clutching both at the blankets and each other. Akira trips on all his socks and nearly face plants into the café floor, but Akechi catches him, soft laughter turning into a panicked gasp when this causes them to almost drop all the blankets. Morgana climbs Akira like a tree -- ow -- to settle across his shoulders, still under the blankets, his tail curling around Akira's neck like he thinks Akechi might try to strangle him right here and now. Akira personally thinks it would be a dumbass move, because if Akechi killed him then Akechi couldn't cu- _ huddle _ for warmth with him. Secure in this knowledge, he waves to Sojiro from beneath the blankets and makes his way upstairs, with Akechi following him. It's a little challenging to fit them both on the stairs side by side, but they manage. Akira reaches out bravely into the cold air to open the attic door and kicks it closed behind them.

It is slightly warmer up here, but not by much. "Couch or bed?" he asks, and Akechi makes an  _ I don't care so long as it's warm  _ sound. The couch is too small for them both to snuggle -- huddle -- together, so Akira stumbles around in the dark because turning on a light would be too much work, and throws himself on the bed, dragging Akechi with him. Immediately he realizes they're going to have to adjust.

"Wait, hold up--" Akira flips over onto his side, keeping as much under the covers as possible. Akechi waits until he's settled to roll onto his side as well, facing Akira, and curl himself into a ball. His shoes kick at Akira's shins  _ hard _ and yeah those are really gonna have to go.

"Ow," he says lamely, and Akechi smiles apologetically, pulling back a little to kick his shoes off. Akira hears them land somewhere on the far side of the room, which will be fun to get to later. Akechi curls right back into him like he'd never left. His toes tuck themselves behind Akira's knees, his fingers sneak themselves in between Akira's neck and shoulder, and they're cold as fuck but Akira feels warmth building inside his ribcage. Now that he doesn’t have to worry about holding the blankets around them, Akira's free to press his hands against Akechi's chest. He doesn't dare put them under Akechi's shirt and he's too afraid to ask permission, but this is enough. Morgana crawls down from Akira's shoulders to lay in between the two of them, which says a lot about how cold he is. Akira closes his eyes, rests his chin atop Akechi's head, and smiles. He's warmer already.

Akira wakes up to cold. Immediately he whines, louder than he probably should've, given the way Morgana stirs against him. Blindly he fumbles around, muttering incoherently until his fingers catch on something on the edge of his bed. He pulls on it. It ignores his feeble tugging, so it's probably Akechi.

Wait a minute.

"'Kech _ iiiii _ ," he mutters, sounding less awake than he actually is. "Leaving already?"

There's a moment before a voice that belongs to Akechi -- it must belong to Akechi, because he's the only other one awake in the room, even though it sounds far too fragile to belong to Akechi at all -- says, "Yes, I really must be going."

Akira frowns. "Wha' time issit?"

A brief light as Akechi checks his phone. Akira's glad he hasn't opened his eyes yet; he's not prepared for a phone light to blind him right now. "9 pm."

_ Wooooooowwwww _ . Out loud he says, "Wow." They slept for 12 hours. "We slept for 12 hours."

There's a silence where Akira assumes that Akechi is nodding, before remembering that it's too dark to see, and adds, "Yes, we did."

"You must've been tired," Akira notes tiredly, and then yawns. "I'm still tired."

"You're still tired?" Akechi demands, sounding a little more like himself. "We slept for  _ twelve hours _ . It was nine in the morning. We weren't even supposed to be asleep!"

"I'm always supposed to be asleep," Akira drawls. "Look, I just woke up and I'm going back to sleep right now. You're welcome to join me."

Akechi is silent for so long that Akira nearly does fall asleep waiting for an answer. "I really should be going," he finally says, voice full of something that Akira's too tired to identify. Akira sighs, and fumbles around in the dark some more, he grabs ahold of Akechi's hand, lying limply on the bed by his side, and squeezes. It's cold and shaking.

"Now look what you did," he admonishes with no heat in his tone. "I'd just gotten you warmed up, too."

Akechi laughs shakily. "I'm truly sorry about that. I didn't mean to impose."

"You're never imposin', 'Kechi. Come back to bed."

"I really can't, Akira, I have to --" he cuts himself off. "I need to go."

"Why?"

"I--because--"

"Can I hazard a guess?" Akira asks quietly. He's not quite sure, but he thinks he might know what's going through Akechi's head, and he hopes he's wrong."

"…Go ahead."

"I think you're afraid." Akechi inhales sharply like he might argue, so Akira barrels on before he can. "You're afraid of whatever us napping together means, and you're running away."

"That's not--" Akechi takes a shuddering breath. "I'm not running."

Akira notes how he doesn't deny that he's afraid. "Please don't leave right now," he pleads. "It's too cold without you here."

The truth cuts at him, reminding him that they're meant to be enemies. Enemies aren't meant to nap together. Enemies aren't meant to feel warmer in each other's presence. Enemies aren't meant to want to wrap each other in blankets and just cuddle for an entire weekend, but that's exactly where they've ended up and Akira wouldn't have it any other way.

Akechi shifts. "These clothes are uncomfortable," he tries, but it's a weak ass argument and they both know it.

"You can take them off," Akira says casually, like he isn't inviting his crush/enemy to nap with him naked. "Or you can borrow some of mine, up to you. Just don't wear those shoes again, they fucking hurt."

Akechi exhales in defeat. "Where are your clothes?"

Akira waves a hand around in an attempt to seem flippant, despite his overwhelming relief. "I don't even know."

Akechi snorts a laugh. "How are you so clever and yet so disorganized?" A bright light appears out of nowhere, bright enough to make Akira wince even behind closed eyelids, and Akechi mutters, "Sorry," without sounding sorry at all, but the light dims significantly. At least he's back to being his usual asshole self. Akira might rescind his invitation for more napping together if he wasn't so fucking cold. How is Akechi even up and moving?

The bed shifts as the asshole detective in question stands, and Akira listens to the pad of his footsteps across the attic. There's the sound of fabric rustling, and then the light gets brighter. Akira grumbles. He finally opens his eyes to tell Akechi off, and the words get stuck in his throat.

Akechi is standing there, illuminated by the flashlight on his phone, his uniform jacket hanging on the back of Akira's desk chair, shirt pulled halfway over his head. Akira feels himself flushing pink as Akechi hangs that shirt on the back on Akira's chair as well. His skin is littered with scars, beauty marks, and goosebumps. Akira wants to map each one out with his mouth until he knows them by heart.

Akechi reaches down and unbuckles his belt.

Akira squeezes his eyes shut. He's being creepy and he knows it. He keeps them firmly closed until the light turns off again. Akechi makes his way back to the bed, and then. Just stands there.

_ He didn't deny that he was afraid. _

Akira takes a chance. He reaches a hand out, and Akechi takes it. Akira takes a moment to thank his lucky stars that Akechi actually  _ stayed _ . Then he tugs gently, and Akechi collapses into bed.

He'd like to say that Akechi had fallen into bed, or climbed into bed, but the truth is that Akechi simply collapsed, on top of him and Morgana, who is thankfully dead to the world. He collapsed like he'd been denying himself this very thing for his entire life, and now that he'd finally given in, it was better than he'd ever imagined, and he could never give it up. He collapsed like he knew he'd have to.

Akira wraps an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. "You don't have to leave, you know," he murmurs, already knowing that Akechi will anyway. So he's more than a little shocked when he hears a hiccupping sound, followed immediately by Akechi's shaking voice apologizing, and more hiccupping sounds.

He knows in the back of his head that it might be an act, but he also can't risk it. So he sits up, braving the air that's not nearly as cold as before. Someone fixed the heater, bless their souls. He scoops up Morgana and sets the not-cat at the foot of the mattress, covers him with blankets so he won't freeze, and turns to Akechi. His eyes have adjusted a little to the tiny bit of moonlight coming through the window, so he can see Akechi frantically scrubbing at his face. Akira lies back down next to him, pulling the blankets over them both once more, so they're covered from head to toe. He winds an arm around Akechi's waist, tugging him closer until they're pressed flush against each other, from shoulder to ankle. His other hand finds its way to Akechi's hair, running his fingers through it in what he hopes is a soothing manner.

"I've got you," he whispers, lips brushing against soft brown hair, and Akechi's whole body shudders with a sob. "You're not alone. I'm here, okay?"

Shaking hands clench in Akira's shirt like vices, but Akira doesn't mind. He thinks what Akechi needs the most is someone to hold onto, someone who will hold onto him too. He wonders, not for the first time, if maybe they don't have to be enemies after all.

He wants to tell Akechi that it's okay, but he knows that it's not, seeing as. Well. Akechi plans to kill him. Which is a really great reason to kick him out of bed right now, but Akira can't find it in his heart to do anything but hold him closer. So instead he starts humming some English country song he heard on the radio that he would sing rather than hum except he doesn't remember the words, only the tune.

Akechi gasps, " _ I'm so sorry _ ," and he's sobbing like a child and shaking violently against Akira and that. That breaks Akira's heart. Picks it up and slams it on the floor and shatters it into tiny little pieces. His eyes prick with tears and he blinks them back furiously to no avail. They fall anyway, and he tries without great success to keep them out of Akechi's hair. Akira takes a shuddering breath and tries to continue humming, but his voice cracks and he gives up, pressing his face down into Akechi's hair and clutching Akechi to him like if they get close enough, they can both be saved.

After a while Akechi's breathing starts to even out, but his hands don't loosen in the slightest. Akira wonders if he's really asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> have I ever played persona 5? nope. have I even finished watching the walkthroughs? nope. have i even finished the anime? nope. have I even met akechi in the canon?? nope I've only seen up til they destroy the palace of that dickface the fake ass painter that I'm blanking on the name of and I refuse to look up! i literally only know the fanon akechi!!!  
> am I totally gonna write a bunch of shit about it anyway while procrastinating on all the other stuff i'm supposed to be writing?? yes absolutely the fuck I am and you're very welcome
> 
> come say hi on [tumblr](http://rest-in-bees.tumblr.com)!!!!!


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